


Bed Of Lies

by Dblukauskis



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie - Freeform, Boys In Love, Death, Drinking, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Fuckbuddies, Heavy Petting, High School, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Murder Mystery, Music, Mystery, Romance, Secret Past, Secret Relationship, Stargazing, friends - Freeform, fuck boy, small town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:05:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dblukauskis/pseuds/Dblukauskis
Summary: Jason is dead, Riverdale is chaos and between trying to figure out what happened to Jason and how all the pieces fall into place, the gang is trying to keep up with school, everything is hard enough as it is, and as more secrets come to the light, a new player comes to mess everything up.





	1. I Trusted You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Jughead and Betty hurt Augustine.

The room suddenly felt terribly heavy, the oppressive silence falling over the trio, the wind blowing hard against the window, its hoarse song becoming the background noise for the upcoming storm that had just taken a few seconds to build.

Archie’s basement, a place where they had all felt safe for so many nights, the place where they had laughed and drank, the place where Archie and Valerie had played their latest musical production, the place where she had finally started to feel at home; like she could really belong there like she had never belonged anywhere else, the place that was now tainted with betrayal.

Archie’s basement was no longer her safe place.

Her eyes snapped to Jughead, a confused look over her face as she tried to understand what was happening, but mostly why it was happening; he gapped his lips partially, he could see it all over her, the horror in her eyes, the twisted confusion on her face.

“Gus” he spoke, and his voice felt like nails on chalkboard to her. “I can explain”

He took a step forward, his hand partially elevated by his hip as he tried to assess the situation, he had been doing damage control all his life for his own survival, and yet he found it unbelievably hard to figure a way to contain this.

“What are you doing here?” her eyes tearing away from Jughead and focusing over Betty; the nice blond was standing next to Jughead, her friendly eyes set over and her lips parted, but all Betty could see how this was devastating Gus.

“Gus, look, Jughead and I were talking at the paper and we just got carried away over the murder board and he thought…

Gus snapped her eyes from Betty to Jughead, and the young man could have sworn he had never seen anyone’s face change so quickly; the surprise was gone, the confusion had been replaced and now all he could see was the wildfire burning in her veins, the wildfire threatening to consume her.

“Gus” started Jughead, and she frowned “Listen, I…

“Shut up!” she finally spat, her hand flying up so she could point at him with her index, Betty flinched at the sudden burst of anger, her head turned slightly to Jughead and her fingers held the paper in her hands a bit harder. “I trusted you!” she accused him, her eyes set over him, almost as if she had forgotten Betty was there. “I trusted you, Jones!”

Jughead winced at the way his last name sounded as it left her lips. “Augustine, let me explain”

“You said I could trust you!” she hissed, but Betty knew the tone in her voice, she could hear the breaking point in it. “And you are just like everyone else, Jughead, so full of shit and lies and secrets!”

“Betty isn’t going to ruin anything” said Jughead “She’s here to help, Gus”

“I don’t need her help!” she spat, her chest rising and falling “I don’t need you or you” she turned to Betty “I don’t need anyone”

Jughead took another step forward but Augustine flinched to the left, her arm curling up to her chest and her antic burned through Jughead like acid on his skin; she looked at him and Jughead pleaded at her silently to calm down, to think, to not rush into conclusions.

“How dare you?” she hissed, her eyes narrowing, and a tear rushing down her left eye.

Augustine didn’t lose time, she didn’t feel like giving them any more time from her day, she turned to look at Betty but her eyes landed over the paper she was holding rapidly; Betty’s hands were holding it gently, holding it like it could break under any sudden movement.

“Give me that” growled Augustine, she reached forward and snatched the paper out of Betty’s hands, the blond allowing the paper to slip from her grip without effort, the last thing she wanted was to cause Augustine even more distress than they already had.

The horrified young woman stumbled back away from Betty, almost as if Betty could burn her just by being so close to her; the two of them looked at each other, Augustine holding the piece of paper to her chest, Betty’s eyes were big as she looked at her friend, all of the things they had done in the past few days seemed to be vanishing in front of her and Betty felt her heart get heavy.

“I’m sorry” whispered Betty, her words echoing louder than anything else that had been said since Augustine had walked down the stairs of the basement.

Gus opened her mouth to speak, her throat constricting as she looked at Betty and the young Copper girl thought that Gus might finally breathe and allow the explanation to come; but instead she closed her mouth and frowned as she looked at Betty, slowly she turned to look at Jughead.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“I have them” he answered

“Where are they!” she snapped, her fingers making the paper creak under her pressure.

“In my bag” he answered, he glanced towards the sofa where he had been sitting with Betty and his eyes landed over his bag, Augustine’s eyes following suit.

She could feel her heartbeats in her ears, it was beating madly and painfully, making her chest ache even more than the strained breathing, but she had to get out of there, she had to leave as fast as she could.

“ _This is all my fault”_ she hissed in her mind as she moved with agility towards the sofa and the bag “ _I should have known I couldn’t trust him”_

She reached for the bag with her left hand, grabbing the item by the strap and tugging it towards herself, her right hand wrinkled the paper she had in her hand but she didn’t care, she opened the bag with her right hand and looked down at it; the paper ripping partially as she reached inside and grabbed the small package of letters that belonged to her.

Feeling the paper in her hand gave her relief, at least they couldn’t take that away from her, at least she wouldn’t allow him to hurt her anymore; she glanced up at Jughead and dropped the bag at her feet, she could care less if his notebooks broke as they landed over the floor.

Jughead held her gaze, her big and dark eyes matching up to his clear ones, she had trusted him and now he had broken that, he had shattered all those nights staying up late and talking, all those whispered words, he had ruined it.

“What’s going on?” the voice reverberated through the basement like a stone being thrown into a pond, all the heads snapped towards the stairs and fell over Archie and Veronica.

The pair stood there as they glanced around the trio, as they glanced over the hurt expression in Betty’s face, over Jughead’s worried eyes and finally over the blazing hell behind Augustine’s eyes.

“Jones can answer that” said Augustine as she started to move, pressing the deck of cards to her chest, the single paper wrinkling against her skin, Veronica focused over Jughead “He seems like he really wants to share it with everyone, anyway”

“Augustine” said Jughead, he frowned as she made her way towards the stairs.

“Fuck you” she barked with all the venom she could press into the words as she climbed the stairs, she stopped next to Archie and Veronica, the glamourous woman stepping towards the handrail to allow Augustine to walk past. “Fuck you, Jughead”

And with that she hurried up the stairs, her footsteps echoing above them as the remaining young people looked at each other, Veronica and Archie in complete confusion as Betty looked down at her hands, her mind rushing with questions and Jughead pressed his lips into a thin line and finally met Archie’s stare, and Archie could see the desolation in his friend’s eyes.

“What was that about?” Veronica finally asked.


	2. A Dash of Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie was the first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a few months before the fight between Augustine and Jughead Ft. Betty

The sun was up and warming the earth beneath it, a gentle breeze blowing cross the football field as the practice came to a break; the players trotted around the field to get their bags, sweat dripping from their faces, hair sticking to their foreheads, uniforms stained with mud and grass.

Archie pulled his helmet off his head, he grabbed it with his left hand and mindlessly his right one reached out and he pushed his hair away from his face, a few strands flopped back down but Archie didn’t really care; he sighed and walked towards the bench where he had his water bottle and a small towel that Betty had given to him once before and he had forgotten to give back.

He panted as he set down the helmet, his right hand scoping up the water bottle quickly, he was tired, he had stayed up late writing a few verses for a new song to show to Valerie, and now he could feel the consequences of all of it. The water felt like relief as it rolled down his throat, he wasn’t captain, but he knew that Reggie needed his abilities, he was good he couldn’t deny that and so he had to put his mind back in the game, and once he was out of the field he could concentrate on his music and songs.

Reggie walked up to him, his dark hair sticking to his forehead, he gave Archie a small smile and he picked up his own water; Archie watched his friend, he knew that his new position as captain was demanding more of him that anyone else in the field, but at least Archie knew he had made the right choice, Reggie deserved to be captain more than anyone else.

“This heat it shit” said Reggie, he looked at Archie.

“I know” nodded the redhead “What makes it even worse, is that we all know rain comes after it”

“Yeah” Reggie shook his head “Way to play with us Mother Nature”

Archie chuckled and shook his head, his eyes wondering around the field for the first time since they had started practice, the intensity of the new game tactics had had him concentrating on his team and only his team.

It was then that he saw her for the first time.

He narrowed his eyes as Reggie went from weather to something else, he watched as the girl on the bleachers stood up, she was holding a camera as she turned on her heels and walked down a few steps, looking for a good angle to take a photo; her blond hair swaying behind her as she moved.

“Who is that?” Archie asked, cutting right through Reggie’s rant.

“What?” Reggie asked, his eyebrows furrowed together and his eyes snapping from his water bottle to Archie.

Archie turned to look at his friend and captain, realizing that both of them had been oblivious to the fact that the other hadn’t been paying attention to their words.

“The girl back there” Archie explained, he looked from Reggie back to the girl, she was standing by the end of the bleachers, her camera up and pointing at the field, Reggie turned to look over his shoulder and his eyes landed over her without trouble.

“Huh” he whispered, she moved the camera and focused on him and Archie, she took the photo and lowered the camera.

Archie watched her as she lowered the camera, holding it carefully with both hands as she looked at him and Reggie, her hair drifted around her with the soft breeze; Archie had never seen her before,

he would have remembered, she cocked her head to the left before she turned on her heels and climbed back up the bleachers to where she had left her bag.

“I have no idea” said Reggie, his eyes still over her as he watched her go. “Who knows,” he shrugged carelessly as he turned back to Archie “Could have just wondered into the field to get some pictures”

Archie tore his eyes away from her when she reached her bag and he turned to look at Reggie “Yeah, probably” he answered, even if he was everything but convinced about that statement.

“Andrews! Mantle! Get over here!” barked the coach’s voice, snapping Archie and Reggie from their conversation.

Both of the teens rapidly set down the water bottles, grabbing their helmets and hurrying back to the gathering group at the center of the field; Archie glanced once more back to the bleachers, the place where countless of times he had seen Betty and his father, and recently Jughead and Veronica cheering for him, this time he saw the blond girl with the camera, her lenses where pointed towards the group and he was sure she hadn’t just wondered into the field to take pictures.

It wouldn’t be until two days later that Archie would realize he was right.

Archie walked up the bleachers, his bag dangling from his shoulder and his hair dripping a few drops of water over his shoulders; he had walked out of the locker room before any of the other players and in a spike of curiosity, he had made his way towards the bleachers, even if he had seen the young woman leaving the place a long time ago.

The afternoon had turned chilly and as he narrowed his eyes, Archie looked up at the sky, black clouds were drifting towards the school and he smirked knowingly as he recalled his conversation with Reggie; he just had to make sure he had made it home before the rain started to pour down over Riverdale.

He looked around the field as he stopped where he had seen the young woman, from the outside it almost felt like a normal day, like a normal town being submerged into the darkness of the night; but then when Archie let out the breath he had been holding, Riverdale went back to what it was.

Jason was dead, secrets lurked in every corner and a killer was still out there.

Archie shook his head, pushing away the thoughts that clouded his mind, he turned on his heels and as he took a step forward, he stepped over something uneven.

He looked down and frowned gently, a small circular black, lid lay just next to his left foot, he pushed it with his foot and then bent down, he grabbed it and turned it around as the clouds above him got darker.

“Nikon” he whispered, he picked it up and pushed himself up, he turned the object, and even though the name over the lid had told Archie what it was, he still inspected the lenses lid. “Huh” he shrugged and pushed the object into his jeans and started to walk.

He really didn’t feel like getting caught under the rain.

 

___________//____________

 

Archie sighed as he looked inside his locker, he had stayed up late working on the last touches of a song, that morning he had over slept and had to make his way to school in a hurry and reproaches of his father had followed him as he rushed down the street.

And now he felt like he was sleepwalking through the corridors of the school, trying his best not to fall asleep on the first two classes and making an effort to concentrate on all the different conversations that his friends had been having when they had gathered around the entrance of the school.

He leaned forward, his forehead touching the cool metal of the locker and he closed his eyes, he really had to stop doing this so many nights in a row.

“Archiekins!” the cheerful voice came accompanied by the slamming of a hand against the locker next to Archie’s.

Archie jolted back, a gasp escaping his lips and adrenaline shooting up his body as he turned to his side to find Veronica smiling up at him.

“Jesus, Ronnie!” he gasped as he looked at her, his heart beating madly in his chest “You scared me” he frowned softly.

“Sorry” she shrugged “Who’s been keeping you up so late?” a smirk appeared over her face.

“No one” he rolled his eyes as he turned to look inside his locker “I was just working on a song and lost track of time”

“And now you’re falling asleep in the corridors of the school”

“Yeah” he nodded, a small smile over his face “I’ll get a power nap during lunch”

“Good” she smiled, she turned to her bag to pull out her phone when Archie turned to look at her, her eyebrows knitted together slightly as she pushed away a book and her hand dove down to get her phone.

Archie shook his head, trying his best to push away the groggy feeling of the lack of sleep from the night before, he took a deep breath and as he looked down at Veronica’s bag, he saw a dash of gold by his peripheral vision.

His head snapped to his left so fast, that Veronica looked up at him with a frown and her phone loosely held in her hand, his eyes were wide and his lips gapped.

“Archie?” asked Veronica, Archie moved his head towards her, an indication that he had heard her but still he didn’t turn to look at her “What’s wrong?”

Instead of turning to her, Archie took a step away from the locker, Veronica’s curiosity instantly poked, she turned to follow Archie’s line of sight but as she turned, one of the doors of a classroom was shoved open and she only got the glimpse of a blond girl walking away down the hallway.

“Are you ok?” her hand landed over his shoulder, Archie turned to look at her.

“Yeah, I just thought I saw someone I knew” he explained.

“We are at school Archie, I think you know everyone” she pointed out, she looked at him and he chuckled softly.

“Yeah, you’re right” he turned back to his locker but Veronica had the impression that Archie had tensed up a bit more than when she had arrived.

“Ok” whispered Veronica “Then we should probably get going, you know how Matthews gets when we are late”

“Yeah” Archie snorted a laugh and Veronica chuckled loudly as he turned to look at her, his left hand closing the locker behind him.

 

___________//____________

 

Archie rolled his shoulders, the day had extended slowly, but he was pretty sure it had everything to do with the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before; at least now, as he walked out of the classroom, he could feel relief because he could take a power nap just like he had told Veronica he would do during lunch.

Mindlessly, he made his way down the corridor, heading towards the cafeteria, he knew it was likely that Betty, Veronica, Kevin and Jughead where already at their usual table outside the building, after all they all had the class before lunch together, while Archie had it with Reggie and Cheryl.

The young man pulled out his phone from his back pocket and looked down at it, he had a text from Veronica and two from Betty, his fingers quickly opened the one belonging to Betty and he read it quickly, but his reply was sent out cut in half as he took a curve down the hall.

The squeaking of a pair of shoes against the floor forced Archie to look up and accidentally send out the half done reply to Betty.

That was the first time Archie saw her up close.

The young woman with the blond hair was hurrying down the hallway, her shoes squeaking against the floor, her backpack thumping against her back and another bag hanging from her shoulder dangled violently as she hurried away from him; and Archie instantly knew who she was.

“Hey!” he called out before he realized what he was doing, the girl clearly didn’t hear him, or she had no idea he was calling after her.

Archie sped up, his bag hitting his side as he hurried after the blond girl, his mind instantly going to the lenses lid he had in his bag; and an idea popped in his mind as he took a turn and stepped out of the building behind her.

“Camera girl!”

She stopped in her tracks suddenly, her camera bag swinging violently next to her, and with a frown over her face, the blond girl turned around rapidly just as Archie came to sudden stop, incredibly close to her.

The young woman took a step back rapidly, surprised by Archie’s arrival and how close he was actually standing next to her.

“Sorry!” he gasped, taking a step back as well. “Sorry”

She looked at him, her eyes big and her light pink lights gaped, her eyes examined his face and for a moment Archie wasn’t sure she had heard his apology; she opened her mouth further to say something but regretted it instantly and she closed her mouth and focused her eyes over his.

“Hey” he said softly, not sure how else to start the conversation.

“Hi” she answered, her voice strained “Can I help you?”

“You’re new” he stated, she arched an eyebrow “I mean, I know you’re new, I’ve never seen you before”

“Yeah, something like that” she whispered “Why?”

“I have something that belongs to you” he explained, she narrowed her eyes.

“Excuse me?” she said, the air between them getting tense.

“I have something that belongs to you” he said again, he grabbed his bag and shifted it towards his chest, opening the zipper as she looked at him.

And if Archie had had the ability to hear heartbeats, he would have realized how fast and frantic hers was going at the moment.

“ _Jesus Christ”_ she thought as she looked at him, he was pulling something from inside the mess he had inside his bag “ _Look at him”_

“Here it is” he smiled, the triumph in his voice making the tense sensation over the girl slightly disappear.

Archie looked up at her, his smile still there and her eyes wide as she kept looking at him, looking at him as if she knew him from before; then slowly she looked down at the object he had in his hands.

“This is yours right?” he asked, he extended the object towards her.

“Oh my god” she whispered, her right hand snapping towards him and taking the lid from his hand quickly “Yes” she looked up at him “Where did you find this? I’ve been looking for it, for a few days”

“You left it at the bleachers” Archie explained, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other “I picked up there” he shrugged “I was at practice”

“Yes, I know, I remember you” she blurt out, Archie smirked and his eyebrow shot up, she closed her mouth and a blush spread over her face.

“I saw you too” he continued “I found it there”

“Thank you” she said, her blush still there, and the lid held in her right hand.

“Of course, don’t worry about it” he nodded, he examined the way she looked down at the lid, her brown eyes focused and there was a soft scar over her left eyebrow. “I’m Archie Andrews by the way”

She looked up at him, his hand extended to her “Oh, I’m Augustine Peletier” she took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Nice to meet you” he said.

“Yeah”

“Are you alone? Would you like to come have lunch with me and my friends?” he asked, he looked over his shoulder and his eyes landed over the table he usually sat at, Kevin and Veronica where looking at him.

“No thank you” Augustine answered “I have to go do somethings, but thanks”

“Oh, yeah sure” Archie nodded “Well, then I guess I’ll see you around”

“Of course” she nodded “Thank you again Archie”

“Don’t worry”

And with that he watched as she turned on her heels and walked away, he watched her for a moment before he turned to head towards his friends, not noticing the way Augustine stopped next to a tree and a table and glanced over her shoulder to look at him.

“ _Look at him”_ she whispered “ _Shit”_

And she turned around and walked away.

Archie walked up towards the table, Veronica, Betty and Kevin sitting on one side, leaving the other side for Archie and Jughead; the redhead set his bag over the table and sat down, incredibly aware that all the eyes on the table were on him.

“Hey” smiled Archie as he looked up at them.

“What was that?” asked Kevin.

“Who was that is a better question” said Veronica, she raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a smile over her face.

“I was just retuning something” Archie explained.

“And you know her from where?” asked Kevin.

“I just met her” he shrugged “But she left the lid of her camera at the bleachers a few days ago”

“And you recognized her?” asked Jughead, Archie rolled his eyes as he pulled out his sandwich from his bag.

“I guess”

“Is she new?” asked Betty.

“Yeah,” Archie looked up at her “Her name is Augustine Peletier”

Kevin’s eye widened as he looked at Archie “Are you shitting me?”

“No” Archie answered with confusion “Why?”

“You guys” said Kevin as he turned to Betty, giving Jughead a quick glance “You don’t remember her?”

“Should we?” asked Jughead, who up till that moment had remained silent.

“Yes!” Kevin smiled as he looked at Betty, “Guspel? Does that ring a bell? Reggie gave her the stupid fight name”

“Oh my god!” gasped Betty “No way” she turned to Archie “Are you sure that’s her name?”

“Yes, what the hell is Guspel?”

“What is going on?” asked Veronica as she looked at Jughead.

“Its her fighter name” said Kevin “That’s what Reggie used to say, don’t you remember her?”

“No,” said Archie “Obviously”

“A little context for the new girl, please” sighed Veronica.

Kevin looked at her “Ronnie, she used to live here” he explained “She left town when we were like in the third grade,”

“And she has a fighter name, why?” asked Veronica.

“Because when we were in second grade, she punched Cheryl on the face, and then punched Jason when he pulled her hair to help his sister” Kevin finally explained “That’s why she has a fighter name”

“Oh” whispered Jughead “Yeah, didn’t she hit Reggie too, right after he called her that?”

“Yeah” chuckled Kevin “She did”

“Ok” nodded Veronica “And why is she back?”

Everyone turned to Archie, he glanced at Veronica and then at Kevin.

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask her”

“Why?” asked Kevin.

“I didn’t know she was Guspel, I didn’t even remember that fight”

“How could you forget the only fight where Cheryl got punched on the face?” asked Kevin. “And more importantly, the only fight where the Blossoms didn’t lose their shit after finding out both their kids got punched?”

“I don’t know” shrugged Archie “I forgot, you can ask her next time you see her”

“Yeah, well” said Jughead “Unless Cheryl wants to find out first”


	3. Wrong Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Augustine goes through the wrong door when trying to avoid Cheryl

Archie propped his head over his left hand, his eyes over the board at the front of the class, but his mind was gone; the teacher was rambling on and on and Archie had lost interest a long time ago, not to mention that he was tired from staying up late with his music.

Lunch time had gone rather peacefully, Kevin and Betty had contextualized Veronica a bit more about Augustine, but after the while, the conversation had drifted off into other topics; Archie had ended up having a power nap and when the bell had rung, announcing the next class, he realized the nap had done nothing to help him.

He turned his head to the left, his eyes landing instantly over the bright and silky hair that made Cheryl pop out in a crowd before anything else; she was sitting with her hair rolling down her back, her posture was nothing less than perfect, her hand scribbling down notes as her eyes darted from the notebook to the board.

Cheryl Blossom would never look less than perfect; not even now.

The way her face looked relax, as it could be considering, and the way she was concentrating, told Archie that perhaps Cheryl didn’t know that Guspel was back in town; he narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

“ _Then again, why would she care?”_ he asked himself “ _That stupid fight was years ago, almost a life time ago”_

Cheryl frowned, pursing her lips slightly before she turned to look over her shoulder and to the left, her eyes landing instantly over Archie; he looked at her, stunned and pulling his head away from his hand as she arched an eyebrow at him and he looked away; a blush spreading over his face, he hadn’t realized he had been staring so obviously.

The bell rang and Archie found himself grabbing his notebook swiftly, pushing his chair back and hurrying towards the door before Cheryl could get any ideas and start demanding why he was staring at her like a deer caught in headlights.

Archie would be the first in a lot of things in the next few months, but hurrying away from Cheryl, was not one of those things.

 

___________//____________

She had known it wouldn’t be easy, not only returning to Riverdale, but going back to school as a new girl with people she no longer knew, people she had never really known; her mother had told her, warned her to be careful, a lot of people had told her it would be hard at first, but this had turned out to be a lot harder than she had expected.

“ _Don’t think about it”_ she sighed in her mind as she took a curve, her backpack set behind her and her camera bag dangling from her shoulder; her sneakers squeaking against the floor.

Augustine took a deep breath through her mouth, an attempt to slow down her beating heart, she had been feeling anxious all day and it was now that she knew that she was heading home that she could feel the anxiety levels finally starting to drop.

She adjusted the strap of her camera bag on her shoulder and headed towards the bathroom, she had a long ride on her bike back home and she’d been drinking a lot of water in class to stay awake throughout the tedious lesson.

She had managed to survive the first day, the theories about Jason Blossom swarmed the hallways, she had heard several and her mind felt heavy and strained; one could only hear enough about murder theories before they felt like their head was going to explode.

Archie Andrews had been the person she had talked to the longest and as far as she could tell, he was also the nicest person she had interacted with throughout the day.

Augustine could see the girls’ bathroom just a couple of feet ahead of her, she quickened her pace, and just as she was passing by the door to the boys bathroom, the girls’ door was pushed open and an intense bright redhead stepped out, looking over her shoulder to the girl walking behind Cheryl. The blond felt her eyes widen as she saw Cheryl, the one person she had been trying to avoid all day, and without even thinking it, Augustine shoved the door of the boys’ bathroom open and scurried inside.

Cheryl turning to glance at the boys’ bathroom just as the door swung close, a frown over her face, she rolled her eyes, and she could never understand why boys had to be so messy and loud in everything they did.

Augustine pressed her back against the door, she knew it was stupid, that she would have to face Cheryl at some point, but this was not the way she wanted for it to happen; Cheryl would probably not even remember her, but Augustine knew things, she knew things that made her nervous just with the thought of having to be so close to Cheryl Blossom.

The young woman closed her eyes, she couldn’t understand why her mother had decided to come back to Riverdale, they had moved away so long ago, that there had never been a reason to come back.

“I think you got the wrong door” the voice made Augustine jolt away from the door, her eyes opening up and her heart skipping in her chest.

“Jesus Christ!” she gasped, her hand reaching out to grab the strap of her camera bag. “You scared me”

“I scared you?” he asked, his eyebrow quirking up as he looked at her. “You are the one in the boys’ bathroom, if you haven’t noticed”

“Yes, I know” she nodded, a blush over her face, she hadn’t realized that the chances of someone being in the bathroom were pretty big.

“Can I ask why?” his lips twitched in amusement and Augustine narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, her grip around her strap tightening.

“No” she shook her head, her felt her body heating up with the anxiety growing in her.

“Are you hiding?” he crossed his arms over his chest, and Augustine had the impression that he was enjoying this a bit too much.

“What? Of course not” she frowned, his eyebrow rose higher, “Fine, I might be”

They stood in silence, looking at each other, Augustine remembered him, maybe not entirely but she did remember something about it; he still had that beanie hat that she remembered seeing every day when she had been in third grade.

“I’m Jughead Jones” he finally broke the silence.

“Yes” she nodded, mostly to herself “Jughead, of course” he narrowed his eyes “I remember you, your beanie actually, but I remember you”

 

“Good to know” he nodded “You’re Augustine Peletier”

"Yeah” she answered.

“And from whom are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding” she rolled her eyes.

“You said you might be” he shrugged “The thing is, I don’t think it was such a great idea to hide inside the boys’ bathroom”

“I wasn’t counting on someone being in here” she shrugged, he uncrossed his arms and pushed them inside the pockets of his jacket.

“Yet here I am”

“Here you are” she nodded at him. “Anyway, it was nice to see you again, Jones, but I should go” she turned on her heels and grabbed the handle, hoping that all the confidence she was pushing into her words was showing in her body language.

Augustine grabbed the handle and pulled the door, only for the door to open up and reveal Reggie Mantel and Archie Andrews at the other side.

“Oh” gasped Archie, he took a step back, his eyes darting from Augustine to the sticker logo of the bathroom, wanting to make sure that they hadn’t just pushed the door of the wrong bathroom, Archie frowned and turned to Augustine, her blush intensifying.

“Jones?” said Reggie, Archie looked over Augustine’s head and the young woman looked over her shoulder back at Jughead.

“She got the wrong door” shrugged Jughead, the smirk and the amused attitude was gone.

“I took the wrong turn” she lied as she turned to look at Reggie and Archie. “I was just heading out” she adjusted her bag over her shoulder and Reggie stepped out of the way, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

Augustine’s eyes dropped to her shoes, she could feel the three boys looking at her and her heart started to race, yes she had been escaping from Cheryl, but this was only making her just as anxious; Archie stepped away from her.

“Thank you, Jones” she called as she stepped out of the bathroom “Archie” she nodded without looking at him and with a rapid turn, she hurried towards the correct bathroom; all she wanted was to get back home.

“What the hell just happened?” asked Reggie, he glanced at Archie.

“She pushed the wrong door, Reggie, can’t you hear?” asked Jughead.

Reggie’s head snapped to Jughead, his jaw tensing and Archie sighed behind him, wishing that both Jughead and Reggie would just ignore each other instead of trying to pick fights at every second they got.

“Hey, Juggie” said Archie, walking pass Reggie, trying to defuse the tension.

“Hey, Archie” nodded Jughead, he turned to one of the mirrors and turned on the water from the faucet, he had already washed his hands but still he placed them under the cool water.

“Who was that?” asked Reggie.

“She’s the girl from the bleachers” said Archie, he glanced at Reggie “The one we saw at practice, Augustine Peletier”

Reggie’s eyes widened and a small smile spread over his lips as he looked at Archie.

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“No” said Archie.

“That’s GusPel?”

“Yes”

“She got hot”

Jughead frowned and turned to look at Reggie, he rolled his eyes and turned the water faucet off and pressed his hands over his jeans.

“Why am I even surprised you said that?” Jughead’s voice echoed in the bathroom, Archie closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. “What else could anyone expect from you?”

Reggie took a menacing step forward but Archie blocked him, he wasn’t in the mood to stop a fist fight, even less in the bathroom and even less of all, to have to stop yet another argument between Jughead and Reggie.

“Stop” said Archie, “Ignore him, Reg”

“Yeah, listen to him” Jughead shook his head and turned to Archie “See you later Archie”

“Bye Juggie” and with that Jughead walked towards the door, Reggie glared at him as he walked out and Archie wondered if these two were going to survive the school year without actually physically fighting each other.

The door swung close behind Jughead, the school hallways were quite, the young man pushed his hands again into the pockets of his jacket and made his way towards the school door.

And that was the first time Jughead Jones saw Augustine Peletier again.


	4. No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is sick of the weirdos in town, Juggie runs into Gus again

The day outside was grey and windy, almost as if the weather had decided to mimic the way Cheryl had been feeling ever since Jason’s body had washed up at the shore of the river; the fiery redhead walked down the hallway of the school, her face perfectly made and her wardrobe on point, even if she felt enraged inside.

A Blossom must never lose its façade.

She unlocked her phone, her eyes dropping to the screen as she walked towards her next class, her parents had been very clear, she had to maintain the façade that everything remained perfect, that Jason’s death wouldn’t shake the structure of their family; but the structure of their family had been shaken before, and now, now it was threatening to collapse.

Cheryl knew what people thought about her, what they whispered on the hallways when she walked by, the things they silenced when she walked into a room; but she was Cheryl Blossom, twins sister of Jason Blossom and she would thrive for both of them now that Jason wasn’t there to do it by himself.

Her fingers were texting rapidly, her perfect eyebrow was up as she continued to walk down the hallway, her eyes darting rapidly over the letters, her brain concentrating on what she was writing to notice the young woman that appeared around the corner, her attention over the camera bag she had dangling over her shoulder.

Augustine walked right into Cheryl, she gasped and flipped her hand away from her bag, hitting Cheryl’s hands and smacking the cellphone out of her grip; the blond gasped and reached out to grab the object before it could crash on the floor as Cheryl took a step back, startled by the crash, her two friends behind her gasped as Augustine’s hand wrapped around the phone and then the hallway felt silent.

The blond girl turned to look at Cheryl, her eyes big and her grip around the phone was hard, her camera bag was dangling over her shoulder; Cheryl narrowed her eyes and her pursed her lips slightly as Augustine looked at her with wide eyes.

“ _Oh god”_ thought Augustine as she looked at Cheryl “ _Oh god no”_ she swallowed hard, her lips opening slowly.

Cheryl’s eyebrow shot up even higher as she looked at the strange girl, she knew everyone in Riverdale and she had never seen this girl around; her straight golden hair didn’t even look the way Betty’s hair did, and her olive eyes seemed like she was a deer caught in headlights; the Queen Bee of high school looked down at her phone and then up at the girl.

“My phone” she hissed.

“Yes” Augustine shook her head, handing the phone back to Cheryl “I’m sorry”

“You should be” Cheryl rolled her eyes as she snatched the phone away from Augustine, turning it over to see if it had any damage, Cheryl glanced up at the young woman, she was just as tall as Cheryl was wearing heels. “You are still here” Cheryl pointed out, she frowned “And you are?”

Augustine’s hands wrapped around the strap of her camera bag, and she had played this so many times in her mind, the way to answer, the way to talk to her, but everything came rushing down and the only words that came out where the ones that she had never really thought about “No one” she whispered before she looked down at her feet “No one”

And just like that Augustine turned on her heels and scurried away down the hallway she had just come through, her knuckles white as she continued to hold the strap of the bag, her feet quick and her heart slamming against her chest.

Cheryl watched as the girl turned around and walked away, her sneakers squeaking gently against the floor, something about her seemed familiar, just not enough to make Cheryl care about who the hell that new weirdo in town was.

“Right” Cheryl sighed as she shook her head “A new weirdo, just what this hell hole needed”

 

___________//____________

 

She fastened her pace, looking up and down the hallway as she shoved her hair away from her face, she had been roaming the school halls by herself for the last three days and so far she had barely learned anything about the school structure, so she just took a curve and then another and then another, the day outside was getting darker and Augustine decided to walk into a room, even if it was just to hide for a while.

If her mother had known, if she had just told her that she already KNEW, then maybe this would have never happened, then maybe they wouldn’t be back to this shady town and all these people; she should have said something, she should have spoken up against the idea.

But she had been happy at first, she had been excited, excited the way new found love made people feel.

“ _Fuck!”_ she screamed in her mind, she should have known better than to make decisions when she was that happy; it clouded judgment, it had clouded her judgment, and now here she was, here to stay.

And the worse part was she couldn’t tell anyone, she could never tell anyone.

She walked into the room, her heart beating madly in her chest and her throat closing on itself as she tried force her brain to regain control of the mess she was turning into; she shook her head and walked towards one of the front desks; the grey outside turning the classroom gloomy and dark and Augustine had the impression that maybe the weather was mimicking the way she felt on the inside.

She pulled her camera bag off her shoulder and set it over the desk, her back to the door and her hair rolling down her shoulders; there was no way to make this easy, she’d just have to make it through, there was no other way.

But things are harder to take in when you are alone.

She shifted her weight form one leg to the other as lighting struck outside, she jolted softly but shook her head and looked down at the desk just as the lights in the room where turned on; Augustine gasped, startled and turned around rapidly, kicking the desk with the back of her long legs as she turned around with her lips gapped and her heart threatening to rip out her throat.

“Jesus Christ!” she gasped, her right hand clutching at her shirt as she looked at the young man standing under the doorframe, his hand extended over the light switch and an arched eyebrow as he looked back at her. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I didn’t mean to starlet you” he explained, dropping his arm from the light switch “I thought you were someone else”

Augustine dropped her hand from her chest and took a deep breath, and what was it with this guy and scaring the living days out of her?

“At least you didn’t get the wrong door this time” he shrugged as he walked into the room

“That was a mistake, Jones” she sighed, rolling her eyes, a light pain shooting up her leg from where she had hit the desk.

“I thought you had said you might have been hiding” he said, looking down at his bag as he tried to pull something out.

“Whatever” she sighed, she shook her head “What are you doing here?”

“I work here” he explained, looking up at her, Augustine raised an eyebrow at him “This is the newspaper room”

She frowned and turned around, in the dark she hadn’t noticed the computers or the banner with the name of the paper on it, and less of all had she noticed the murder board that Jughead was now approaching; Augustine winced as she looked at it from afar, it had pictures of the river, pictures of the Blossom house and several other places in town, but her eyes landed last over the picture of Jason.

“What is that?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“A murder board” he explained casually, he pulled out a photo from his bag and pinned it to the board, his back to the new girl.

“Why do you guys have that?”

“We are keeping track of the investigation” Jughead answered, he looked at her over his shoulder “Letting the school know what’s happening with Jason”

“Right” she whispered, she walked up towards Jughead, her eyes trying to concentrate on something in particular about the board, but there was so much, yet she felt like there was so little. “You made this yourself?”

“No” he shook his head and turned to look at her “We’ve been making it with a few others that work at the newspaper”

“Oh”

Jughead looked at her, the way her eyes scanned the board behind him, up this close he could tell that she was taller than most of the girls in school, but what his mind wanted to know the most was what had brought her back to Riverdale.

“How are you liking the school so far?” he decided to ask, the fact that they knew her name from years before didn’t mean that this girl wasn’t a total stranger.

“Its fine” she shrugged, her eyes landing over Jughead “I guess, I mean there isn’t much to tell”

“How long have you been here?”

“Three weeks” she answered, she had rehearsed this before, she had to make it as believable as she could.

“I hadn’t seen you around until you walked into the boys’ bathroom” he narrowed his eyes, and Augustine had the impression that he was used to this, figuring people out.

“I’m good at that” she answered casually “Not being noticed”

“It does come in handy” he agreed, leaving behind the part where it was also sometimes a burden.

“Yeah” she answered, her voice a faint whisper just before the rain finally started to pour outside, Augustine sighed and looked to her left, her eyes over the window. “ _Just what I needed”_ she groaned internally.

“Are you gonna stay here?” he asked, his words were soft but there was still that tone in his voice that she wasn’t sure what it meant.

“At Riverdale?” she asked back as she turned to look at him.

“No” he walked around her “In this room”

She turned around to follow him with her sight as he walked towards a desk and set a pack of papers over it.

“No” she shrugged “I just wanted to check something about my camera”

Jughead didn’t answer and Augustine bit her lower lip, shifting her weight from one leg to the other before she spoke again.

“This school wouldn’t just casually have a red room right?”

Jughead stopped what he was doing before he turned to look at her, his head cocked to the left and despite this being the longest conversation they had had, she could hear the gears in his brain turning.

“Yeah, it does have one actually” he answered, and he was surprised to see the way her eyes lit up. “It’s mostly used for the yearbook, but we use it sometimes, I don’t think anyone is using it right now”

“Could you show me?” she asked, and the confident tone in her voice was gone “I’m trying to set one up in my house, but the move has been hectic so I haven’t had time to do it”

The move…. Right…..

“Yeah, of course” Jughead answered, not really sure how he had ended up being the welcome committee of the new girl instead of Betty and Kevin. “Just give me a second and I’ll show you”

“Sure, don’t worry” she smiled at him, uncrossing her arms and carefully walking back towards the desk where she had left her camera bag.


	5. Begining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few questions and a few answers

Jughead looked at her, the way she looked around the red room, her fingers gently brushing over the photos that had been hanged up to dry, her eyes were attentive and careful, the red light in the room casted strange shadows over her face, making it harsher and edgier than it really was.

They had walked in silence down to the red room, the storm raging outside, and it had been then that Jughead had noticed something about her, it had come to him in the way she moved, the way her sneakers barely squeaked against the floor; because the thing that Jughead had learned from going unnoticed was that you got to notice things in others.

Augustine Peletier hadn’t returned to Riverdale with a bang, not like Veronica had, instead there was a calmness in her that remained Jughead that sometimes the strongest person isn’t the one who arrives with a bang, but the one who arrived without being noticed.

“Why weren’t you greeted by the welcome committee?” Jughead asked after a few more minutes in silence.

Augustine glanced at him from over her shoulder, her golden hair was tainted red by the lights as she looked at him. “What?”

“The welcome committee” Jughead explained “They show the new people around, helping them get around and all that” he shrugged “Two of my friends, Betty and Kevin, they are part of that committee, why didn’t they show you around?”

“Oh” she whispered, she turned her body to face him “I already knew my way around the school, the basics at least” she shrugged “I thought there was no need for it, so”

“Right” nodded Jughead “How did you know your way around the school?”

She looked at him, and part of her ached as she thought about that answer, so instead she gave him a short smile “I kind of learned it during summer”

“You got here on summer?”

“Um… yeah” she shrugged “The last part of it” she wrapped her hands on the strap of her camera bag “Not exactly a great time to get here” she continued “Considering what happened and all that”

“Agreed” nodded Jughead, the pair looked at each other for a few seconds before the young woman started to move once more.

“Anyway” she cleared her throat “Thank you for showing me this place, I’ll come by tomorrow to use it, if it’s not a problem”

“Don’t sweat it” Jughead said “You can tell them you are working with us at the paper or that you want to join the photography club,”

“Thanks” she nodded.

“Ready to go?” he asked, he was looking down at his phone, he had just received a text from Kevin.

“Yeah” answered Augustine.

Jughead looked up at her, the young woman was already making her way towards the door, there was something about her that seemed off to Jughead, he wasn’t sure what it was but it was just a feeling he had.

The pair walked out of the room in silence, just like they had walked in, the rain was still falling hard outside and the wind was blowing just to match; Augustine rubbed her hands up and down her arms, her eyes lingering towards the window.

This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go, she wasn’t supposed to be there, not like this, she pressed her lips into a thin line as she tried to push away the thoughts that bubbled and drowned her at night.

“This storm is not going anywhere, is it?”

Jughead looked at her and shrugged “No, I don’t think it is”

“Yeah, I figured” she shrugged and turned her attention down to her bag, her hands diving in to look for something, Jughead glanced at her before he waited for another text from Kevin telling him to meet him outside.

“Why?” he asked, his phone vibrating with a new text, he looked at it as Augustine pulled out a keychain from her bag.

“Nothing” she shrugged “I just didn’t feel like getting caught under the rain”

Jughead’s head snapped to Augustine “What do you mean?”

“I have a bike” she explained, a small smile over her face as she dangled her keys, he glanced down at them and then looked up at her.

“You cant be serious, you’ll probably get washed away into a sewer if you go on your bike”

“Let’s hope Pennywise doesn’t get me then” she chuckled with a shrug “Right?”

“Ah” his eyebrows up “A Stephen King enthusiast”

“As we all should be” she smiled, “Anyway, I should get going, its not a long road, but it will feel like one under this weather”

Jughead opened his mouth to speak when the phone started to ring, he looked down at it and picked up quickly as he read Kevin’s name on the screen.

“Hello” he looked at the young woman standing next to him “Yeah, I’m at the door” he glanced at the doors and approached it, his free hand grabbed the handle and he pulled it open to find Kevin’s car sitting in the rain “Hey, I need a favor, if its not too much to ask” he glanced at Augustine “Do you have room in your car for someone else?”

“No” she whispered as she looked at him. “No, no, no, don’t”

“Great, thanks” and with that he ended the phone. “Ok, let’s go”

“No, you shouldn’t have done that”

“It’s done” he shrugged “Kevin will gladly drive you to your house,” he looked at her, he could see she was a bit embarrassed, he dropped his shoulders and gave her a short smile “Come on, it beats having to ride in the rain, and risk running into Pennywise, don’t you think?”

She glanced at the opened doors, the rain was falling heavily and she knew that even with just stepping out she was be drenched, that could only mean that she would get home probably even sick; she turned to Jughead and sighed.

“Fine, thank you”

“Of course” he shrugged “Ready?”

“Yeah”

He held the door open for her, she walked out and he followed shortly, the water drops hitting her shoes as the building protected their heads, the young woman took a deep breath and then hurried down the steps of the main door and Jughead followed quickly, pulling his hat off and shoving it into his jacket as they raced towards the car.

Augustine reached the car first, her hand rapidly grabbing the handle and pulling it open, she scrambled inside as Jughead reached the car and with a slam from the young man, the door closed behind himself and the noise from the outside world was silenced in the car.

“Shit” chuckled Augustine, she pushed her hair away from her face and cleaned the water away from her eyes, she turned to Kevin “Hey”

“Hi” said Kevin, he glanced from her to Jughead and then back to her “Kevin Keller”

“Augustine Peletier” she nodded “Thanks for the ride”

“Of course, don’t worry about it” he turned to the road “You’ll have to tell me where to”

“Yes, I’ll guide you” she nodded, she glanced at Jughead “Thanks”

“No problem” Jughead noticed, the young woman turned to look straight forward, Jughead glanced at her slightly for a few seconds, there was a light scar running just before her ear and partly down her jaw; he looked away and into the review mirror and caught Kevin looking at him, Jughead rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window.

And that’s how it happened, how in a rainy afternoon Riverdale continued to hide all its secrets, how in the cover of the rain the town’s new vault of secrets started to befriend the Scooby Doo Gang.


	6. Tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Augustine overhears something and Veronica gets a strange feeling.

Augustine groaned as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and pushed herself up, her eyes darted towards her phone over the night table, outside the wind was blowing harshly against the window and the rain had never stopped falling since she had left school with Jughead; with a sigh, the young woman reached for the phone, clicking it on and squinting as the light swarmed into the dark room.

“Twelve thirty” she mumbled, her throat felt dry and hoarse, she looked around the room, the place looked the way she wanted, yet it didn’t feel like home yet.

“Maybe it will just take some time” she had said a few days after getting here, when everything had been so new, when she had felt so energized and fresh, so good, now she just thought that it probably would never feel like home.

“ _Fuck”_ she thought before she pushed herself up to her feet, her left toes feeling the soft carpet and making her wondered if her sock had slipped off her foot and was still under the covers or had it fallen down and was now probably under the bed.

She dropped the phone over the bed and ruffled her hair before she turned on the ball of her feet and made her way towards the door of her room, the chill from the rain creeping over her slowly, now that she was out of the refuge of her covers.

The young woman pushed the door open gently and peaked out, the last thing she wanted was to wake up her mother or her step-father, but to her surprise, a ray of light was partially illuminating the stairs, which meant that someone was on the first floor; with a frown, Augustine walked out of the room and into the hallway.

As silently as she could, she walked towards the stairs, if her step dad was just getting home from work, she didn’t want to wake up her mother; but as she reached the top of the stairs, she realized that a hushed conversation was taking place at the living room of her house.

Augustine frowned and took a few steps down, enough to be able to hear better but also to be kept hidden from the sight of whomever was downstairs.

“Violet, listen to me” her step father’s voice reached her ears, Augustine crouched and for an instant she had a flashback of her younger self crouching at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping on her mother and her step father talking about leaving Riverdale. “You need to talk to her”

“What? Horatio, are you listening to yourself?” her mother’s tone was desperate, anxious, something was wrong, the young woman frowned and looked down at her feet as she listened on. “She can never know, you cannot tell her”

“I gave you my word” his voice was sweet, velvety “I won’t tell her, that is for you to talk to about with her, but she needs to know” and Augustine couldn’t see it but, her mother made an attempt to interrupt, but Horatio continued “You know she’ll find out eventually, we both know”

“She’ll never understand” whispered Violet.

“You don’t give her the credit she deserves” Horatio sighed, “She’ll understand, she’ll have to, but you need to do what’s best, before someone else does it for you”

“You cant think that could happen” Violet’s words were high pitched, worry evident all over her tone. “Right?”

“Look where we are Violet” Horatio ruffled his hair “We could run from it before, but now? You know just as well as I do that nothing stays hidden for long, especially here”

Augustine was pressing her index finger over the nail of her big left toe, her lower lip trapped between her teeth as the conversation continued, Horatio comforting her mother, Augustine swallowed hard and pushed herself up to her feet.

Violet was worried about Augustine finding out.

But Augustine already knew.

“ _I’ve known for a long time, mom”_ she thought as she entered her room as silently as she could.

 

___________//____________

 

Veronica and Archie walked out the classroom together, the day was a bit grey but it was slowly warming up, the redhead had finally gotten a good night’s rest and even if he felt like he should sleep throughout the whole weekend, he did feel better than he had been feeling earlier that week.

“Ok, so Betty and the boys are heading to the bleachers” said Veronica, she was looking down at her phone but wasn’t missing a beat as she walked next to Archie “We could head out now, unless you have to get something from your locker”

“Um” Archie looked down at the books he had, his back pack was dangling from one of his shoulders but as they walked he thought it would be best to take the books for his next class to lunch so he wouldn’t have to go back to the locker. “Um, yeah, actually I have to go to the locker for a quick sec”

“Oh” she looked up at him “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just want to get some things” Archie shrugged “But you can get going and I’ll meet you there, Ronnie”

“No, it’s ok” she shrugged, a small smile over her face as Archie turned to look at the hallway, his eyes searching for his locker; she had really tried to keep her attraction to Archie hidden, Betty had been really hurt when Veronica and Archie had kissed and the last thing she wanted was to lose Betty, but as he started to head to his locket, Veronica couldn’t help but feel a turn in her stomach, the one she got every time she saw Archie laugh.

It was a quick detour towards his locker, and Archie was quick in setting his things and taking the ones he needed before they started again, the redhead telling Veronica about the new song he was composing with Nathalie.

“And I think we could have it all ready for… but his trail of thought and his voice died off as he glanced to the left, Veronica watched him for a second before she looked around to see what had gotten his attention.

“Archiekins, is everything alright?” his head turned partially at her.

“What?”

“You ok?” she asked, a slight frown over her delicate face.

“Yes, yes, just give me a second” he adjusted his back pack over his shoulder and turned around, his steps long and precise as Veronica watched him approach a locker, as she stood behind in the middle of the hallway and the passing students.

Archie walked up towards the open locker, an idea had popped in his mind a few days ago, and now he had seen his opportunity, that’s how he ended walking towards the open locker just as its owner closed the door.

“Hey there” he greeted with a smile.

“Jesus Christ!” gasped Augustine, she took a step back and clutched her bag as she looked up at Archie “What the fuck?”

“Sorry” he took a step away from her “I didn’t mean to scare you”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes a bit narrowed “Are you and Jones just taking turns?”

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing, never mind” she sighed “It was a bad inside joke, between me and myself”

Archie laughed, his smile stretching over his face as Veronica watched him talking to the strange, new girl, her golden hair was straight and fell down her back like liquid gold, and even in tennis shoes, she was taller than Veronica and Betty.

“And Jughead, I mean you did say his name” shrugged Archie.

“Jughead is partially involved” Augustine shrugged, she adjusted her bag “What can I do for you Archie?”

“Um, well, I was thinking about you the other day” he explained and she quirked an eyebrow up, he shook his head at her, but a small blush appeared over his face, that didn’t go unnoticed by Veronica. “And I was wondering if you’d like to join us for lunch, I mean I don’t know if you are already sitting with someone, but we’d like you to join us”

Augustine looked at him, and she felt her heart warm up “ _Why?”_ she thought as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other “I don’t know” she shrugged.

“Come on, it’ll be fun” he smiled, and she couldn’t help but think that Archie looked like an over excited puppy “Juggie is gonna be there and Kevin mentioned he meet you yesterday” he took a step forward “I’ll be there too, you only have two others to meet”

“Archie, I…

“Please, come on” and was it normal for someone to have such a smile?

“Has anyone ever said no to you, Archie?” she chuckled.

“Yes, a lot of people, I’m just hoping you don’t join them” he explained. “Hey, if you hate sitting with us, you don’t have to join us tomorrow”

“That would be rude and you’d know I’d hated sitting with you” she pointed out.

“Ok” he agreed “As a favor then” she looked amused “For returning the camera lid to you”

And this time Augustine was the one to laugh, her hair moving like a wave as she ruffled it and shrugged.

“Seriously?”

“Yes” he shrugged, she rolled her eyes but there was a soft smile over her lips.

“Fine,” she agreed, and he smiled and she had the impression that Archie could light up the whole school with that smile.

“Let’s go then” he turned partially “Veronica is waiting for us”

“Just so you know” she started as they walked towards Veronica “You could have used the boys bathroom as blackmailed, would have worked better”

Veronica frowned at the comment as they walked up to her “Ronnie, this is Augustine Peletier” Veronica turned to the girl, up close she was prettier, and she couldn’t help but feel a pull in her chest “And Augustine, this is Veronica Lodge”

“Nice to meet you” said Augustine.

“Nice to meet you too” smiled Veronica, she glanced at Archie “Ready?”

“Yeah”

“Ok” and even if she tried not to, Veronica turned around and started to walk, just a few steps ahead of Archie and Augustine, the tightness in her chest growing.

“I’ll try the bathroom card tomorrow then, Augustine” Archie said as they walked out into the open doors.

“Gus” she answered, he glanced at her partially, squinting against the sun “Call me Gus”


	7. That was That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group get a little invitation

Despite the horrible weather that had raged the day and the night before, the day had been blessed with a high and warm sun; the wind was blowing gently as Archie, Gus and Veronica walked towards the bleachers, Veronica’s plum color dress, swayed around her legs as she crossed her arms under her chest, walking a few steps ahead of Archie and his new friend.

Gus looked over her shoulder and back to the building of the school, Archie was walking next to her, the sun making his hair shine and she wondered how long could anything last in this place, she bit her inner cheek and turned to look up front.

Jughead, Kevin and Betty were staring at them as they finally walked up the bleachers and reached the trio, Betty had a welcoming smile that only Betty could ever give and Jughead had his eyebrow up in amusement as he watched them come to a stop.

“Augustine” nodded Jughead, she looked at him and gave him a kind smile.

“Jones” she said back.

“Guys, this is Augustine Peletier” said Archie, as he looked at Betty and Kevin “Gus, I think you already met Kevin, so this is Betty Cooper” he said looking at Augustine before he turned back to Betty “Betty, this is Augustine Peletier”

“Hey” said Betty, and her voice had to be the softest Gus had ever hear. “Nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too” said Augustine, she adjusted her backpack over her shoulder as she looked at them.

“Sit down” said Kevin, Veronica had already taken a seat next to Betty.

Augustine glanced at Archie for a second, he turned to her and gave her a short smile before he walked along the bleacher and sat down just below Betty and Veronica, Augustine glanced at Jughead for a split second and then followed after Archie; she sat down slowly and set her book bag over her lap, her fingers digging into it, she wasn’t used to being around so many people and she could feel their eyes over her, their desire to ask things.

“It’s a nice day” she finally said, her hands feeling the camera inside her bag, comfort spreading through her body as she touched the object through the fabric.

“Yeah, well,” shrugged Kevin “It’s better than the rain from the other day”

“No chances of getting dragged into a sewer” Jughead pointed out, a slight smirk over his lips, Gus chuckled and glanced at him.

“Yeah, lucky me, right Jones?”

Veronica raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Betty, Jughead shrugged and Gus turned to her bag, she opened it and pulled out a small plastic container where she had carelessly stashed a pair of donuts.

“That’s your lunch?” asked Archie, she looked up at him.

“I was running late” she explained, a soft blush spreading over her face “My parents were already gone”

“Oh” whispered Archie, she gave him a soft smile and turned to look down at her donuts just as Kevin decided to venture in and ask what Betty and Veronica where wanting to know.

“So, why are you back in Riverdale?” he asked.

Archie’s eyes darted up to Kevin, next to him Veronica gave him a soft shrug, Gus ripped a piece of one of the donuts and pushed it inside her mouth; the answer was simple, yet everything about her return had become complicated and it had twisted and turned and it had left her here, hurt, confused and pretending.

“My dad asked for a transfer at the hospital” Gus explained, she looked up at Kevin, her eyes drifting towards Veronica and Betty and then returning to Kevin. “He’s been working too much and wanted a calmer place to work at”

“Oh” Betty nodded, her sandwich held in both hands “Your dad is a doctor?”

“Yeah” Gus nodded “And we were renting the house and the people living there left like six months ago, so” she shrugged “My mom thought this would be a good place to come back,” she turned to Archie “We left so long ago that coming back is just like being new in town, you know no one”

“And no one knows you” said Veronica.

“You could say that” she said back, returning to meet Veronica’s eyes “And here we are, because why not”

“Have you liked it? So far, I mean” asked Betty, Gus looked at her, she only had one class with Betty but she could see she was smart and sharp and she looked nice enough.

“School?” asked Gus “It’s fine, I guess”

“Town” Betty explained.

“Oh” Gus looked down at her food, suddenly she didn’t want any of it, her stomach turned and she felt like throwing up. _“This is a nightmare”_ she thought “ _This is not the way it was supposed to be, this wasn’t the way”_ instead she answered “It’s nice, I’ve liked it so far, a lot of places to take pictures”

“Right” Betty cheered up “You’re the one with the camera!”

Everyone looked at Betty with questioning eyes, Jughead being the only one glancing back at Augustine.

“Yes” she answered, an amused expression over her face as she looked at Betty. “Yeah, I have a camera”

“Have you seen the red room? From the year book?” asked Betty, she scooted closer to the edge of the bleacher she was sitting on. “We use it for the paper too”

“Um, yeah, I’ve seen it” Gus said “Jughead showed it to me the other day”

Veronica and Archie glanced at Jughead, Veronica’s eyes lingering longer over the young man as Archie turned to look at Augustine and Jughead giving Veronica a soft and casual shrug before looking down at his lunch.

“Did you like it?” asked Betty, Gus looked at her for a few seconds, eyes narrowed.

“Um, yeah, it’s fine” she shrugged, “You know maybe …

“Just the group I was looking for” the voice was soft, but there was something harsh in her words.

The conversation came to a stop and the group turned to the voice, Betty and Kevin already recognizing it before their eyes were even casted over the person striding confidently towards them; the sun was shining high and reflecting perfectly over Cheryl’s red hair, her clothes popping out from anything anyone had ever worn at school, and her left eyebrow raised as she approached the group.

“Hey Cheryl” said Archie as the beautiful woman came to a stop in front of them.

“Archibald” she nodded as she looked at him, a soft smile over her perfectly painted lips, her eyes rested over him for a few seconds before she turned to look over her shoulder, one of her friends handed her a small stack of black envelopes and then Cheryl turned back to the group.

“What can we do for you Cheryl?” asked Veronica, her eyes over Cheryl as the redhead looked at the envelopes and then looked up at her.

“I was looking for all of you” she explained “I’m hosting a party after the dance” she shrugged “And you are invited” she handed the envelopes to Archie, the one closest to her.

Archie looked at her for a split second and then took the envelopes from her soft hands, Cheryl gave him a short smile before her eyes were drawn towards the only person there that she didn’t recognize.

“Oh, you again” she said, her eyebrow shooting up and her smile disappearing, Gus looked up at her, her half eaten donut in her hand.

“Hi” said Gus, trying her best not to tighten her jaw.

Cheryl cocked her head to the left, her red hair swaying smoothly, she narrowed her eyes, there was something about this girl that seemed familiar, and it wasn’t just the fact that they had bumped into each other and the girl had almost ruined her phone, there was something else there, she just wasn’t sure what it was, and that was bothering her.

“Do we know each other?” Cheryl finally asked, she popped her hip to the left, everyone turned to look at Gus, Kevin’s eyebrows up and Archie slowly looking from Gus to Cheryl and then back to the new girl.

“Yeah, something like that” Gus answered with a shrug, she was looking up at Cheryl, her eyes squinting as the red head looked down at her, Cheryl’s eyebrow shot up higher. “I’m Augustine Peletier, I punched you in the face when we were in the second grade”

Cheryl looked at her, shock spread through her face for a split second before she covered it up, she pouted softly.

“Huh, well, I don’t have an invitation for you” she shrugged, she turned to the others “I hope to see the rest of you there”

“That’s even better” Gus answered, how come Cheryl still had that superiority air around her that she had had when they were kids, she pushed her donut into the container and gathered her stuff as she continued “At least now I don’t have to make up an excuse as to why I don’t feel like going to your party”

She pushed herself up to her feet, standing a few inches taller than Cheryl because she was standing over the bleachers, Cheryl looked up at her, if she had been shocked or angered by the answer, Cheryl wasn’t showing it.

“I’ll see you later” she said as she turned to the group.

Gus walked down the bleachers and glanced at Cheryl “Sorry about your phone the other day” and with that she started to walk away, her container in one hand and her bag dangling from her shoulder, she really didn’t have time for this, and she hadn’t lied, yeah, Archie and Jughead seemed nice, but she wasn’t feeling it at all to have and go to a party where she knew no one.

“What’s her problem?” Cheryl rolled her eyes.

“I guess we’ll never know” Jughead shrugged, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

Gus could feel the warm sun over her as she made her way towards the building, without looking down at her bag, she opened it and shoved her container with her leftover donut inside, she had lost her appetite but she wasn’t even sure she had had any appetite at all since she had arrived back to Riverdale.

With her hand inside the bag, she searched for a small faux leather notebook inside, her fingers caressed the cover and she pulled it out, she stopped near a small picnic table and pulled the notebook out of the bag, she looked down at it, and held it with both hands.

Her thumbs rubbed over the cover as she looked down at it, her heart was pounding in her chest, slowly she opened it and looked down at it, at the papers folded inside the notebook, this was the only way of keeping them safe, of keeping anyone from finding them.

She tightened her jaw as she looked at the pages, her throat contracting before she took one of the papers and unfolded it with one hand, she knew the words by memory, she had read them over and over again, so many times that she was sure she would end up ruining the paper if she didn’t stop; but the thing was, she couldn’t find the strength inside her to stop reading them, it would be torture to leave it alone.

_I can’t wait to see you, you’re the only person I have now._

_With all my love, I’ll be waiting here._

 

She smiled at the last words of the letter, this was the only letter she knew by heart, but she kept them all together, no one else could find them, one else could see them, no one would ever understand, no one will ever see them, and that was that.


End file.
